Because there is not one educational philosophy that public school systems all subscribe to, teachers each design their classrooms and learning activities based on their own views of teaching, learning, and school. Thinking about your teaching philosophy allows you to question ideas about teaching and learning that you may otherwise have considered "common sense." This assignment is meant to provide a opportunity to "try out" your teaching philosophy in a realistic setting: Meeting the parents of your students at Back To School night. Your reading about the philosophical bases of teacher-centered and student-centered teaching may help you think through how you will teach and justify this approach to parents.
Imagine that you have just started your dream teaching job, and Back To School Night is scheduled in two weeks. Back To School Night is an evening where parents get to "attend class" in their child's classroom to meet the teacher and get a feel for what their child experiences each day. Each teacher is expected to meet and interact with the parents for about fifteen minutes. You need to decide what will occur during this time.
Dream Job:elementary school teacher
Grade Level:2nd
School Description:small community
1. What questions and concerns do you think parents will have?
I think the parents will want to know what their children will be learning throughout the school year and what thier daily routine will be. They will want to know what their surroundings will be like and the morals that I will be teaching them.
2. What do you want parents to know about how you think students learn?
I want the parents to know that their children will be learning through hands on experiences as long well as me explaining it to them. I believe that after I teach them how to do something they will defienetly learn the material better if they do activities that involve that subject. For example: if I teach them how to write the alphabet, I will give them worksheets that have to do with writing out the alphabet.
3. What do you want parents to understand about your approach to teaching?
I want them to know that my approach to teaching is very serious and I want to help their children learn as much material as they can throughout the school year. I want them to leave my classroom being prepared for the next grade. I also want them to have fun in my classroom and I want them to enjoy learning instead of hate going to school. I think I can achieve that by incorporating fun group activities into my everyday teaching plan.
4. What do you expect of their children as students? Why?
I expect their children to pay attention to me when I teach and to have enthusiasm when they come into my classroom. I want them to try thier hardest at everything they do and if they need help I want them to always ask for my help. I expect this from them because this is the only way they are going to become better students and since they are so young, they need to start building up their learning abilities.
5. What is your policy concerning classroom behavior? How do you justify this approach?
My policy concerning classroom behavior is that they should be on their best behaviors at all times and they should not do anything in the classroom that they would not do at home. By this, I do not mean that they should be little angels but if they think their parents would disapprove they should not follow through with it. If they do something wrong, I will simply correct them and show them why it was wrong and that they shouldn't do it again. I justify this approach because I just want to help the kids become better people inside and outside of the classroom. If I correct them inside the classroom when they do something wrong, maybe they will decide not to do that action in public.
6. What is your policy concerning homework? How do you justify this approach?
My policy concerning homework is that my students will be assigned homework on the material we covered in class that day everynight. They will be expected to try their best on every assignment and bring it to class completed so we can go over it. Even if they get stuck and their parents help them complete it, it is better than not trying it at all. I justify this approach because if you teach the children that doing their homework will help them in the long run now, then when they get to middle school and high school they will know taht doing their homework is a good thing.
There are no wrong answers to these questions. If you would like 5 pts extra credit on the participation portion of your grade, you can post your answers on the wikispace using the EDC 102 Back To School Night template.
Back To School Night
Name:Jaclyn Augustine
Because there is not one educational philosophy that public school systems all subscribe to, teachers each design their classrooms and learning activities based on their own views of teaching, learning, and school. Thinking about your teaching philosophy allows you to question ideas about teaching and learning that you may otherwise have considered "common sense." This assignment is meant to provide a opportunity to "try out" your teaching philosophy in a realistic setting: Meeting the parents of your students at Back To School night. Your reading about the philosophical bases of teacher-centered and student-centered teaching may help you think through how you will teach and justify this approach to parents.
Imagine that you have just started your dream teaching job, and Back To School Night is scheduled in two weeks. Back To School Night is an evening where parents get to "attend class" in their child's classroom to meet the teacher and get a feel for what their child experiences each day. Each teacher is expected to meet and interact with the parents for about fifteen minutes. You need to decide what will occur during this time.
Dream Job:elementary school teacher
Grade Level:2nd
School Description:small community
1. What questions and concerns do you think parents will have?
I think the parents will want to know what their children will be learning throughout the school year and what thier daily routine will be. They will want to know what their surroundings will be like and the morals that I will be teaching them.
2. What do you want parents to know about how you think students learn?
I want the parents to know that their children will be learning through hands on experiences as long well as me explaining it to them. I believe that after I teach them how to do something they will defienetly learn the material better if they do activities that involve that subject. For example: if I teach them how to write the alphabet, I will give them worksheets that have to do with writing out the alphabet.
3. What do you want parents to understand about your approach to teaching?
I want them to know that my approach to teaching is very serious and I want to help their children learn as much material as they can throughout the school year. I want them to leave my classroom being prepared for the next grade. I also want them to have fun in my classroom and I want them to enjoy learning instead of hate going to school. I think I can achieve that by incorporating fun group activities into my everyday teaching plan.
4. What do you expect of their children as students? Why?
I expect their children to pay attention to me when I teach and to have enthusiasm when they come into my classroom. I want them to try thier hardest at everything they do and if they need help I want them to always ask for my help. I expect this from them because this is the only way they are going to become better students and since they are so young, they need to start building up their learning abilities.
5. What is your policy concerning classroom behavior? How do you justify this approach?
My policy concerning classroom behavior is that they should be on their best behaviors at all times and they should not do anything in the classroom that they would not do at home. By this, I do not mean that they should be little angels but if they think their parents would disapprove they should not follow through with it. If they do something wrong, I will simply correct them and show them why it was wrong and that they shouldn't do it again. I justify this approach because I just want to help the kids become better people inside and outside of the classroom. If I correct them inside the classroom when they do something wrong, maybe they will decide not to do that action in public.
6. What is your policy concerning homework? How do you justify this approach?
My policy concerning homework is that my students will be assigned homework on the material we covered in class that day everynight. They will be expected to try their best on every assignment and bring it to class completed so we can go over it. Even if they get stuck and their parents help them complete it, it is better than not trying it at all. I justify this approach because if you teach the children that doing their homework will help them in the long run now, then when they get to middle school and high school they will know taht doing their homework is a good thing.
There are no wrong answers to these questions. If you would like 5 pts extra credit on the participation portion of your grade, you can post your answers on the wikispace using the EDC 102 Back To School Night template.